Man probeert de krant te lezen van de rug van een krantenjongen 1814 - 1846

This print, by Frans Jan baron van Heeckeren van Brandsenburg, was likely made with etching, using acid to bite lines into a metal plate, which was then inked and pressed onto paper. Look closely, and you will see the lines are not perfectly uniform – some are darker, some lighter, reflecting the hand-worked nature of the process. This wasn’t a slick, mass-produced image; it was made through skilled labor. The print is a commentary on class division. The impoverished newsboy, probably working long hours, is exploited by the bourgeois gentleman who wants the news but doesn't want to pay for it. It speaks volumes about access to information, which, like the print itself, relied on the economics of production and consumption. Paying attention to materials and processes allows us to recognize the value of labor, the nuances of expression, and the social context in which this print was created.